We’re about to find out how ‘sleepy’ Joe Biden really is

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It’s a complete mystery to most voters as to what version of Joe Biden they’re going to see at the first presidential debate on Tuesday.

Is it going to be the Biden who swears he would beat President Trump “like a drum” or the Biden whose public appearances of late have almost been exclusively via web shows, wherein he’s seen squinting into a camera, mouth half-open, slurring through a few remarks before hitting the off switch and calling it a day by 9:30 a.m.?

If we’re looking solely at what liberals in the media are advising Biden to do, we should expect a whip-smart candidate ready to hit the president with snappy one-liners, devastating takedowns on his administration’s handling of the pandemic, and, naturally, a barrage of attacks on his character. (If you haven’t heard, Biden is running for president “to restore the soul of America.”)

True, it’s all very cringe-inducing, and yet, I don’t think you’ll see any of it. Did we ever during the Democratic primary? Out of more than a dozen debates back then, Biden had maybe two strong moments, neither of which were memorable. No, for the most part, he sat back, comfortable with his lead among primary voters thanks to his name recognition and association with the first black president. He didn’t have to do much, and so, he didn’t.

Biden’s own supporters in the media don’t really expect to see any of this either; otherwise, they wouldn’t be trying to wish it into existence by writing about what Biden should do. Have you read or heard anything in the media about what Trump “should” do at the debate? No, because journalists and people who follow politics already know that Trump himself knows what to do. He’s a natural performer with a consistent message.

By contrast, liberals are hoping Biden shows up as something he’s not, though that’s not unlike Biden in recent weeks and months already presenting himself as something he’s not.

“I think I know how to handle bullies,” he said earlier this month when asked about the debate. Does he? Even assuming Trump is a bully — by definition, he is not — where is the evidence that Biden knows how to “handle” one? When in his entire political career has he ever shown the capacity for taking on someone stronger than him? His last one-on-one debate was against Paul Ryan during the 2012 campaign, and anyone who watched it knows it was Biden who was the bully, shoving his finger at Ryan, the picture of a choir boy, and literally grabbing his arm.

But that’s not the Biden that exists anymore, and Trump is not Paul Ryan.

On different occasions lately, Biden has made comments about physically fighting the president, about challenging a random voter to a pushup contest, about outrunning a hypothetical critic. And then, we watch him exhaust his way through a 15-minute speech, forgetting basic facts and figures that are supposed to reinforce him as the smart one. It’s all very sad, and if he attempts to be that fake person at the first debate, it’s desperately going to go wrong for him.

Biden can pretend to be the alpha male that his hype men in the media want him to be. But voters will see the truth.

Tags: Opinion, Beltway Confidential, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, 2020 Elections, Debates, Campaigns, Campaign 2020

Original Author: Eddie Scarry

Original Location: We’re about to find out how ‘sleepy’ Joe Biden really is